Girls win 11th straight regional title; Central boys less than a point short of first

Odessa American
Central High School sophomore Haylee Thompson won the girls all-around title Saturday in Odessa, leading the Lady Cats to an 11th straight regional championship. The Lady Cats will attempt to win a sixth state title May 3-5 at Angelo State University's Junell Center.

Odessa American
Central High School gymnast Eddie Martinez competes on the pommel horse Saturday at the Region III Texas High School Gymnastics Championships in Odessa. Martinez took sixth in the boys all-around.

Odessa American
Central High School senior Ryan Terrill ran away with the boys all-around title this weekend, winning five of the six individual events at the Region III Texas High School Gymnastics Championships at in Odessa. The boys team took second behind Odessa Permian and advances to the state competition.

ODESSA — There were two obvious questions heading into Saturday's final day of the Region III Texas High School Gymnastics Championships.

What would the Central girls team do for an encore?

And could the Central boys play catch up against Odessa Permian?

The Lady Cats, coming off a spectacular performance Friday, had an off-day by their lofty standards but still managed to run away with their 11th consecutive regional title in front of a large gathering of blue-and-orange-clad fans at the Permian High School Fieldhouse.

But the Central boys couldn't pull off a comeback against the host team from Mojo country.

Two weeks after snapping the Panthers' 10-year stranglehold on the District 3-5A title, the Bobcats finished second by just nine-tenths of a point after trailing by 1.2 points Friday.

"I was impressed with them battling," Central boys coach Kern Arrott said after his team lost 326.20 to 325.30.

"It could've been a lot worse. We started off behind the eight-ball on Friday with the rotation we had. Today, we had a heck of a lot better rotation, and it showed. Here you've got two teams battling for that No. 1 spot, and it's been like that all year long."

The good news for both Central teams is the Lady Cats and Bobcats are both going to the state meet in their own backyard at Angelo State University's Junell Center on May 3-5.

Central swept the regional all-around titles Saturday, as sophomore Haylee Thompson won the girls' crown and senior Ryan Terrill took the boys' title. The Lady Cats swept the top four spots in the all-around competition, with junior Meredith Miller second, and freshman phenoms Mishelle Gallegos and Cari Whittenburgs third and fourth, respectively.

The five-time state champion Lady Cats came within .175 of a point of matching their school record for a compulsory meet with a 118.025 total on Friday.

They weren't able to duplicate that kind of magic Saturday, but they still breezed to a 231.25 to 215.95 win over second-place Abilene Cooper.

"It was just a little rougher today," Miller admitted. "I know that in these next couple of weeks we have we'll focus on the skills that we faltered a little bit on today and try to make it consistent and be competitive with everything we do."

The Lady Cats know if they can put together two straight days of crisp, error-free routines next month they could add a sixth state banner to the rafters and erase the frustrations of two consecutive years of finishing second.

"We have a good feeling that we can, especially after doing so good on compulsories," Miller said. "And we'll be at home, and we'll have a lot of support from our friends and family."

They know the mistakes they made Saturday are kinks they can work out.

"We all know what we did wrong and what we can do better," Thompson said. "We all know we're capable of it."

From the very start Saturday, Walker said his Lady Cats team was just a little off. Things like a malfunction on the music for some of their floor exercises didn't make it any easier.

"I can't complain too much," said Walker, who feels his team is a legitimate state-title contender. "I'm regional champion again for the 11th time, and we swept the events.

"And we scored a good team score, but I know we can score better. But overall, I'm pleased."

The Lady Cats swept the top four spots on uneven bars (Thompson, Whittenburg, Gallegos and Miller), balance beam (Whittenburg, Miller, senior Bekah Bethune and Thompson), and floor exercise (Bethune, Miller, Thompson and Gallegos). Gallegos and Thompson went 1-2 on vault.

On the boys' side, Terrill corralled five of the six individual event titles — pommel horse, rings, parallel bars, floor and high bar. The only event he didn't win was vault, as he tied Permian's Trey Enriquez for third.

Martinez took second on vault and fourth on p-bars, and Macias grabbed a silver medal on high bar.

The Bobcats know they have to step up their game to make a push for a state championship, which would end a 10-year drought for the Central boys.

"We've got to see how much better we've got to be to beat (the Panthers) and the other guys in the state," Terrill said. "These next two weeks, we're going to be really working out hard and get things to the cleanest of our ability."

Arrott was named 2012 Regional Boys Coach of the Year, but he said he would gladly trade that honor for a regional team championship.

"We've improved a whole lot under his coaching, so I think he definitely deserves it," Macias said.